Sixteenth International Conference on Design Principles & Practices

Abstract

In this paper, I introduce heuristic inquiry as one of the core methodologies of creative research and look into it through the lens of Suhrawardi, a prominent Persian illuminationism philosopher. In exercising this connection between Persian and Western methodological thinking, I draw upon the metaphors of another Persian illuminationist, the poet Attar of Nishapur, whose famous poem, The Conference of the Birds, describes the journey of the self through an allegorical narrative. As a design researcher, my ontological being that has been significantly shaped by Persian Illuminationism, (especially the works the Persian philosopher Suhrawardi). His illuminationist way of knowing, ‘knowledge by presence’, has enabled me to approach my inquiry through a relationship between intuition and praxis. In this paper, I try to explain how my illuminationism is consolidated through a heuristic inquiry. I posit a journey that comprises seven stages of self-realisation drawn from The Conference of the Birds, (a classical illuminationist Persian text by Attar of Nishapur). These stages, correlate somewhat with Moustakas’ (1990), seven essential concepts of heuristic inquiry. However, I argue that where Moustakas’ concepts eventually focus on meeting the requirements of producing research outcomes, Attar’s illuminationist framework preserves the openness of inquiry and may facilitate ongoing discovery.